The Seventh Cycle
by dani-chan3
Summary: AU. Himura Kenshin has spent six lifetimes in a cycle of wandering and losing Kamiya Kaoru. How many more lifetimes will it take to find his answers and live happily ever after?
1. The Edges of Dream

AU. Himura Kenshin has spent six lifetimes in a cycle of wandering and losing Kamiya Kaoru. How many more lifetimes will it take to find his answers and live happily ever after?

An attempt to venture back into writing now that I'm older. Please review! :)

Disclaimer: I DISCLAIM EVERYTHING. I wish I owned Kenshin the way he owns my heart.

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**The Seventh Cycle  
****Chapter 1: The Edges of Dream**

Sessha_ wa rurouni, he whispers into her hair. He can feel the long black strands clinging around him and seeping into his skin with that distinct scent._

_He turns to leave, tendrils of hair lingering after him like soft fingertips. As if they were her fingertips. As if she were willing them to do, to say, what she couldn't choke out to him. As if she were willing him to stay._

_He feels her drowning behind him and he tries to turn around desperately - I have to save her - but he doesn't, can't. Even as he is struggling to turn and catch a glimpse, he falls away from her and he thinks - This isn't fair._

_He falls and disperses, melting into the soft lights around him. He melts into the air in a river of blood, his heart floating in pieces around him. Behind him are shattered gasps and he can see her blue eyes swimming in an ocean._

_His breathing speeds up and turns shallow._

_I can't breathe._

_He is gasping for air in time with her and -_

* * *

Himura Kenshin sits up with a start, his hand cletching his shirt tightly. His heart is racing and he tries to catch his breath.

_What. The fuck._

He remembers fireflies and jasmines. He clutches his head in pain, taking in deep slow breaths. Blue eyes. He curls into a ball in his bed, his eyes sliding to his alarm clock. Its' green, digital numbers blink steadily at him.

3:32 AM

He stares at it for a while, feeling his mind empty and his heartbeat slow down.

He slips back into sleep restlessly.


	2. As Long As You Come Home (Part 1)

AU. Himura Kenshin has spent six lifetimes in a cycle of wandering and losing Kamiya Kaoru. How many more lifetimes will it take to find his answers and live happily ever after?

Thanks to **Nadya Lubov**, **Jasmine blossom625** and **brainy carrot** for reviewing! ^_^ Hope I didn't update too late in your opinion. I'd send you individual PMs to thank you, but I don't know if that's a turn-off for reviewers or not. Hmmmmm.

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**The Seventh Cycle  
****Chapter 2: As Long As You Come Home (Part 1)**

I, Himura Kenshin, am about to die.

Yeah, no. Seriously.

It's 1:24 PM and I'm crossing the quad in a brisk run. I have dodged exactly two footballs, a Frisbee disk and a few cheerleaders in this pathetic attempt to cut down on time and take a shortcut. My bag is slapping hard against my back and the sun is shining hotly.

Kami, now I'm going to smell like a pig _and _get murdered for being late.

"Oi, Kenshin!"

It's a familiar voice and I risk a glance behind to catch a glimpse of familiar rooster hair. "Later, Sano!" I yell back, before turning back front. "Wha-"

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"

"Oomph." I barely catch myself on my feet, nearly tripping over a couple lounging on the grass. I mean, really? In the middle of the goddamn field? I mutter a quick "Gomen nasai!" anyway, and continue hurrying off, passing the public bike rack. I can still hear the couple shouting after me, so I flash them a quick peace sign behind me and… _Wait a minute._ I stop abruptly and take a couple of steps back.

"Excuse me, I need to borrow this," I give a deep bow to a boy (obviously a freshman), grab a bike from his hand and hightail it down the road.

"Whaa- OI! THIEF!"

I yell over my shoulder, apologetically. "I'll be sure to return it in one piece! Please ask the man with the rooster hair, he will make sure of it!"

And I'm off, pedaling like a madman.

* * *

He was off the bike before it even stopped. I didn't even know he owned a bike. I watch him prop it against the wall of the building and, as if sensing my gaze, he leans back and catches a glimpse of me looking out the balcony, three floors above.

His eyes widen and I stifle a laugh, giving him a stern look instead. The baka probably thinks I'm mad.

He winces. "I know, I know. I'm sorry!" He gives me an apologetic look and it occurs to me (not for the first time) just how unfair that is. He looks like a puppy begging for its' dying wish-you can't say no. "You gonna let me help you or do I have to grovel?"

I go through the motions of making a big deal of his tardiness. All sighs and grumbling, and shaking my head… I buzz him up anyway.

I grin as I open the door. "You're never late, Kensh –"

The smile falls from my face when I see him up close. He looks _terrible _and there are dark circles beneath his eyes. The school year hasn't even started yet.

He ducks under my arm and into the small room. I don't think he noticed this _rare_ occurrence wherein I seem to be at a total loss for words. "I'm so sorry, I really am," he says, falling onto the sofa that Sano helped me haul up earlier this morning. He pinches the edge of his nose.

"What happened?" I can't help the worried tone that sneaks in. He isn't usually like this, and I'm torn between my concern for him and the feeling of giddiness bubbling up my chest that he feels comfortable enough around me to show some vulnerability.

Kenshin peeks at me from beneath his hand and smiles gently. Guardedly. He reaches over to smooth out the crease between my eyebrows. "There, much better," he smiles. I try to pretend that my heart didn't just skip a beat, choosing to focus at the anxiety building up steadily in my gut instead. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry about it." He stands up, dusting off his jeans. "Now, what do you need me to do?"

I give him a measuring look – half exasperation and half understanding – and by the way he fidgets, I know that he knows what I'm thinking. _Don't hide from me._

"Eh. Maa, maa. I swear, it's nothing important! I'll tell you some other time." He always does this and I can't help the sad look that creeps on my face. He grimaces at me. "I said don't worry. Today is about you, remember? Not me! First day out of the nest, I bet Koujiro-san is going out of his mind!" He smiles extra brightly, "And I must say, you look very pretty on your first day."

_God, Kenshin, don't even -_

He reaches over and ruffles my hair.

"Mou! Kenshin!" I slap his hand away irritatedly. God, he has no idea how long it took to fix that. He's smirking at me and I slap a pillow to his face.

* * *

"That doesn't go there! Mou, Kenshin!" She grabs the frames from me and starts re-arranging them on the side of her bed. "Let _me_ unpack the photographs and you can unload my clothes."

"Hai!"

She hates it when I'm too agreeable. And sure enough, when I peek back at her, she's trying to give me a death glare. I grin back and waggle my eyebrows in a silly way at her, watching her upside-down smile wobble comically as she tries not to laugh. "Well, you like doing the laundry anyway, so what the hell."

"God, you're right," I snort, folding a couple of her shirts. "I _hate _washing machines."

There's a pause as our eyes meet each other across the room, and before we know it, we can barely stand from laughing.

We manage to catch our breaths in a minute or so, and despite the unexpected fatigue and lack of sleep, I'm happy I hauled my ass up here to help her move. She's shelving her huge collection of books now and there's a small smile playing on the corner of her lips. I'm glad she's not angry with me for the incident this morning.

It's not that I don't want to tell her things. It's just that I know she's got a lot on her mind already, without having to worry about me and a few stupid dreams.

"How's your dad," I call out to her, reaching for a pair of green pajamas with frog and bathtub prints on it.

"Mmmmm, he's fine. A bit devastated that I'm leaving him alone at home, especially with Yahiko still boarding at the Univ. But he'll live. We settled on a compromise that we'd go home every other week for dinner." There's a worried tone in her voice again, colored in with a spattering of guilt.

"Don't worry, though," I assure her.

"Hmmmm? About what, Kenshin?"

I smile as I place the last pile of clothing into her cabinet. "About your dad." I can hear her movements still, and feel her eyes prickling at the back of my neck. "He'll be fine. Uncle Hiko will be delighted, to say the least."

I turn to face her, and she's looking at her feet. "Aa," she whispers softly. She brushes her hair behind her ear after a pause, and looks up again to smile at me. She walks over and nudges me with her shoulder. "Hey. Thanks."

"Oro?" It's my turn to be confused. "What for?"

She sweeps her arm over the small room and for the first time since this afternoon, I take a good look at this small studio-type apartment that she rented out.

Two doors in the corner – the front door and the bathroom – and a small storage closet that we painted a bright, happy shade of blue. A tiny kitchen beside it with a three-seat dining set propped against the wall. It's back-to-back with a living room consisting of a sofa cozy enough to fit two and a flat screen T.V. Then there's the small divider fashioned like a traditional shogi, separating the living area from the bedroom. Past the shogi and into the bedroom, was filled with only a bookshelf, a writing desk with a lamp and her laptop on it, a tall wooden closet and a single bed facing a small balcony.

There are pictures tacked all over the walls here. Kaoru with her dad and her younger brother, Yahiko. Kaoru with me. Kaoru with our neighbors Misao and Sano, our arms slung around each other's necks. Kaoru on her graduation day, grabbing my arm, her face laughing as she points at the camera. Kaoru playing with a very young Yahiko in their garden. A very young Kaoru with her late mother. Kaoru with me and my uncle.

There's a quilt and several colorful throw pillows thrown over the couch, and a vase on the small dining table filled with the fresh flowers we stole from the bush outside the building. Kaoru brushes past me and bends down to plug in something. The space is flooded by the fairy lights we set up in a corner of the living area (it took us hours and not a few arguments to set it up), and I realize that it's dark out already.

It feels like home.

The grin spills out from my face as I turn to look at her. I hook my arm around her shoulders, in an almost-chokehold. '"This place is _brilliant_!" She grins up at me. "It feels like you," I tell her.

And it does. Every attention to detail, the simplicity and feminine touch to the place, the quirks and the colors, the warmth it seems to exude.

I look down at her and she has an odd look on her face.

"Ne, Kaoru?" She blinks and the look is gone. "You're welcome, by the way," I say to her, my voice light and teasing.

She pushes away from me, "Well, that's the last time I'm ever thanking you." She's laughing now, and she collapses on the sofa, clearly tired. "Want me to make some dinner? Otousan would have a fit if he knew I took advantage of your kindness."

"Well, you would, anyway." I tell her as I moved to stand in front of the couch, ignoring her offer to make dinner. Myself to laundry was the opposite of what Kaoru was to cooking. "Anyway, stay here. I'll go grab some take-out."

"Demo-"

I push her back down as she scrambles to get up. She clumsily falls back and sinks into the cushions and I can't help the bark of laughter. She glares at me through her bangs. "You are obviously exhausted from making this dirty, pathetic studio look like a wonderful, bohemian movie." I point at her and waggle my finger at her. "And don't worry about your Otousan, I'd never tell on you."

I grab my wallet and the apartment key from the kitchen counter on my way out; and right before I close the door, I see her eyes slide shut with a serene smile on her face.

* * *

_Kenshin._

Kenshin shakes his head dazedly. He pauses at the intersection, looking left and right.

_KENSHIN._

She calls him insistently, and he tilts his head in confusion, trying to hear better. It is a full second before he realizes that he didn't actually hear anyone call him.

_The smell of white plums overwhelms him. _

His heart starts to speed up and he's not quite sure what's happening. A sense of déjà vu washes over him and he is vaguely reminded of last night. The street lights seem to fade.

_"Is that the perfume she wears? Huh, Kenshin?"_

He crosses the street, shaking his head to clear it from the whispers of this strange day dream, and starts pedaling with more force towards the one thing he knows is real - she's going to worry and he doesn't want to ruin the nice day they've had together.

_He looks at her, and there are tears in both of their eyes. She closes hers and clenches her fists, whispering brokenly at him. (He wishes she had yelled instead. It would have hurt less.) "I thought you were leaving her?"_

Kenshin sucks in a deep breath, confused.

_"I... I-I'm so sorry."_

_She shoves past him and he turns to explain and makes to grab her arm -_

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

A bright red Toyota screeches to a stop, inches away from his face. He squints at the bright lights on the hood of the car, and then at the man that hurries out of the driver's seat. "What the fuck, boy?! Watch where you're going! I almost ran into you!"

Kenshin's eyes glaze over the man and drift to the sky. The sky is bleeding, he thinks in surprise. He is on his back, shivering in the middle of a small street and he doesn't even remember falling.

"Hey, boy! Are you alright?"

And for the first time since he was twelve, Kenshin is very, very afraid.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

I wonder if things are starting to make more sense? Am trying to figure out how to reveal previous lifetimes in a way that won't be confusing to you readers. Would love your feedback on the flashback scenes! Were they confusing? Was the change in mood to abrupt?

Anyway, also I've lost my Beta Reader! (Who is, incidentally, my brother who is now too busy with his pre-law studies to bother with fanfiction.) Anybody out there who is willing to read over stories for me? Need not be done meticulously, just someone to talk with to help me throw ideas around and flesh them out… Maybe read some chapters in advance.

Hell, any new friends to talk, ramble and rave to about Rurouni Kenshin are most welcome! ^_^

Please read and review! Comments, suggestions, questions and any sort of feedback are all welcome!


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